Another Setback for Facebook Home

Facebook isn’t having a great week on mobile with its new Android-based application, Home.

In response to media reports that carriers in Europe were delaying the release of HTC First – the first phone designed specifically for Facebook’s new Home application — the company acknowledged Thursday that it has encouraged its European carriers, Orange and EE, to “hold off” on introducing the phone to the continent. It is also going to “limit supporting new devices,” according to a statement provided by a Facebook spokeswoman.

“We’ve listened to feedback from users on their experience using Home. While many people love it, we’ve heard a lot of great feedback about how to make Home substantially better. As a result we’re focusing the next few months on adding customization features that address the feedback we received,” said the statement.

It’s the latest setback for Facebook, which unveiled Home in April to much fanfare. At the time, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the software turned Google’s Android phones into “great” social phones.

But since its release, the app has failed to become a breakout hit, garnering lukewarm reviews in Google’s app store and modest downloads. It recorded 1 million installs in the first month, a somewhat disappointing figure, given the hype around the app and the company’s marketing push on television and on the Web.

The HTC First has appeared to struggle even more. Wireless carrier AT&T recently cut the device’s price to 99 cents from $99 in the United States.

The setbacks show how Facebook is still figuring out its way on mobile. Though it remains one of the most popular apps on Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android phones, it has made some strategic blunders along the way. Most notably, it spent years too focused on building a universal, Web-based version of the application instead of putting more energy into designing applications tailored for Apple and Google’s operating systems.

After playing catch-up in the first half of 2012, Facebook has vastly improved the performance of its flagship applications and acquired Instagram, the popular photo-sharing mobile app. However, the latest snafus with Home shows how mobile remains a vulnerability as the company tries to compete with a growing crowd of agile upstarts.

In recent weeks, Facebook has acknowledged that it didn’t properly design certain aspects of the Home application. Based on user feedback, the company has said that people were upset by the lack of customization options for the home screen. It said it is working on building a better dock and folders for the home screen to address users’ concerns.

In separate statements, EE, one of the UK’s largest mobile operator, and Orange, said that they did change their plans based on Facebook’s recommendation. “We will continue to build on our strong relationship with Facebook so as to offer customers new opportunities in the future,” an EE spokesman said in statement.